Security News > 2024 > March > AI tools put companies at risk of data exfiltration

While 99% of companies have data protection solutions in place, 78% of cybersecurity leaders admit they've still had sensitive data breached, leaked, or exposed.

"Today, data is highly portable. While AI and cloud technologies are igniting new business ventures that allow employees to connect, create, and collaborate, they also make it easier to leak critical corporate data like source code and IP," said Joe Payne, CEO of Code42.

"This year, the research highlights the new challenges posed by AI as data sets are being pushed outside of organizations to train LLMs. We also see that source code is now considered the most important data to protect, other than financial information and research data. This is a critical finding, as most data protection tools are incapable of spotting the most common source code exfiltration techniques," added Payne.

79% of respondents believe their cybersecurity team has a shortage of skilled workers, leading cybersecurity leaders to turn to AI and GenAI technology to fill the talent gap; but these aren't a 1:1 replacement, and the report also cautions against the possible data loss risks of these tools.

Risks can vary by employee age and role, with companies more concerned about data security breaches from Generation Z and Millennials falling victim to phishing attacks, oversharing company information online, sending company files/data to personal accounts/devices, and putting sensitive data into GenAI tools.

Greater visibility is needed so that companies have sight on data being copied into GenAI tools to identify and remediate risks before it's too late.

News URL

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2024/03/06/genai-data-loss-threat/